NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks moved once more into record territory on Thursday as hopes for a resolution on the U.S.-China trade war were lifted again.

China announced Thursday it had agreed with the United States to wind back tariffs in phases.

"The bottom line is if some of the tariffs are relieved, it diminishes any prospect of a recession so that's positive for stocks," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York told the Reuters Thomson news agency.

At the close on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrials were ahead 201.94 points or 0.73% at 27,694.50.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 31.83 points or 0.73% to 27,694.50.

The Standard and Poors 500 added 10.04 points or 0.33% to 3,086.82.

The U.S. dollar continued its recent rally, extending gains against the majors, although the commodity currencies held their ground.

Around the New York close on Thursday the euro was soft at 1.1047. The British pound fell to 1.2822 as the Bank of England was downbeat on its outlook for both the British and global economies, hinting that official interest rates may be pushed lower.

The Japanese yen buckled to 109.32, while the Swiss franc fell to 0.9955.

The Canadian dollar was steady at 1.3181. The Australian and New Zealand dollars crept a little higher to 0.6900 and 0.6367 respectively.

On equity markets overseas, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.13%. The German Dax was ahead 0.83%, while in Paris the CAC 40 appreciated by 0.41%.

On Asian markets, China's Shanghai Composite finished just 0.12 of a point higher, for no noticeable percentage gain. The benchmark index closed Thursday at 2,978.71.

In Japan the Nikkei 225 rose 26.50 points or 0.11% to 23,330.32.

The Australian All Ordinaries gained 63.70 points or 0.94% to 6,836.90.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng advanced 158.59 points or 0.57% to 27,847.23.